Aurora Candidates from the Chronicle of Qīng Dynasty in Several Degrees of Relevance

Abstract

We present the result of the survey of sunspots and auroras in $Q\bar{ı}ngsh\check{ı}ga\check{o}$, the draft chronicle of $Q\bar{ı}ng$ dynasty, for the period of 1559-1912 CE, as a sequel of the series of works surveying historical sunspot and aurora records, and providing online data to the scientific community regarding the attained results. In total of this $Q\bar{ı}ngsh\check{ı}ga\check{o}$ survey, we found 111 records of night-sky luminous events with the keywords such as vapor ($q\grave{ı}$), cloud ($y\acute{u}n$), and light ($gu\bar{a}ng$), which may indicate auroras as well as some other phenomena. Similarly keyword survey for sunspots were done, but no sunspot record was found. In comparison with the aurora records in the western world, we found 14 of the 111 records have a corresponding record of simultaneous observation in the western world and hence are very likely to be aurora. In order to investigate the likeliness of the rest of the record being aurora, we calculated the lunar age and the phase of a solar cycle for each record. After these calculations, notable fraction of these records clustered near the full moon were found statistically doubtful in considerations with atmospheric optics, meanwhile a few records near the new moon could be more likely interpreted as auroras including three records during the Maunder minimum.

34 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in PASJ

References in corpus (3)

• High Dispersion Spectroscopy of Solar-type Superflare Stars. II. Stellar Rotation, Starspots, and Chromospheric Activities
• Records of sunspot and aurora during CE 960-1279 in the Chinese chronicle of the Song dynasty
• High Dispersion Spectroscopy of Solar-type Superflare Stars. I. Temperature, Surface Gravity, Metallicity, and $v\sin i$

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Extreme solar events
• The earliest drawings of datable auroras and a two-tail comet from the Syriac Chronicle of Zūqnīn
• Historical Auroras in the 990s: Evidence for Great Magnetic Storms
• Occurrence of Great Magnetic Storms on 6-8 March 1582
• Earliest Datable Records of Aurora-like Phenomena in the Astronomical Diaries from Babylonia
• Records of sunspot and aurora activity during 581-959 CE in Chinese official histories in the periods of Suí, Táng, and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
• Records of Auroral Candidates and Sunspots in Rikkokushi, Chronicles of Ancient Japan from Early 7th Century to 887
• Candidate Auroral Observations during the Major Solar-Terrestrial Storm in May 1680: Implication for Space Weather Events during the Maunder Minimum